Predict the Winner
A medium-tier problem at 56% community acceptance, tagged with Array, Math, Dynamic Programming. Reported in interviews at Cisco and 2 others.
Predict the Winner is a game-theory problem that tests whether you can think beyond greedy moves and reason about adversarial game states. You're given an array of numbers and two players pick alternately, each trying to maximize their own score. The question sounds simple: can the first player force a win? Companies like Cisco, Flipkart, and Salesforce have asked this. The trap is assuming a greedy strategy works. It doesn't. If you hit this on your assessment and freeze on the state-space logic, StealthCoder surfaces the optimal solution invisibly while you keep typing.
Companies that ask "Predict the Winner"
Predict the Winner is the kind of problem that decides whether you pass. StealthCoder reads the problem on screen and surfaces a working solution in under 2 seconds. Invisible to screen share. The proctor sees nothing. Built by a senior engineer who knows the OA is theater. This is the script.
Get StealthCoderThe core insight is that this isn't about picking the biggest number each turn. It's about modeling the game recursively: at each state, a player chooses the move that leaves the opponent in the worst possible position. You need to track both the current player's score and the opponent's optimal play from every subarray. Dynamic programming or memoized recursion prevents recalculating the same game states. The common failure is trying to solve it with a local greedy heuristic or misunderstanding whose perspective you're optimizing for. Array, Recursion, and Game Theory are the loaded topics here. Math enters through the scoring logic. StealthCoder is your safety net if the game-tree reasoning doesn't click under live-assessment pressure.
Pattern tags
You know the problem.
Make sure you actually pass it.
Predict the Winner recycles across companies for a reason. It's medium-tier, and most candidates blank under the timer. StealthCoder is the hedge: an AI overlay invisible during screen share. It reads the problem and surfaces a working solution in under 2 seconds. Built by a senior engineer who knows the OA is theater. This is the script. Works on HackerRank, CodeSignal, CoderPad, and Karat.
Predict the Winner interview FAQ
Is this really a medium problem?+
The acceptance rate is about 56%, which confirms medium difficulty. The tricky part isn't code length. It's shifting from greedy thinking to game-state reasoning. Once you see the recursive pattern and memoize, implementation is straightforward.
Do I need actual game-theory study to solve this?+
No formal game theory background needed. You just have to think in turns: what move leaves my opponent worst-off. That's it. Recursion and DP handle the rest. The problem is teaching that perspective, not advanced theory.
How does this relate to other DP problems I've drilled?+
It's similar to range-DP patterns like matrix chain multiplication or burst balloons, where subarray state matters. The twist is the adversarial component. You're not optimizing one value; you're finding the outcome when both players play optimally.
Will Cisco, Flipkart, or Salesforce actually ask this in my OA?+
These companies have asked it historically. It appears frequently enough in assessments that it's worth knowing the pattern. Game-theory problems test whether you can think beyond straightforward iteration, which is why they appeal to serious platforms.
What's the most common wrong approach?+
Greedy: always pick the largest remaining number. That fails because sometimes picking a smaller number blocks your opponent from a bigger one, giving you the overall win. You have to trace the full adversarial game tree.
Want the actual problem statement? View "Predict the Winner" on LeetCode →